Wash-up meeting - February

As things draw to a close on site, a wash up meeting was held in mid-February to review the project and ensure the crucial handover period went as planned.

The 14 attendees demonstrated the complexity of the project, but also the acknowledgement of all stakeholders that complicated project require high levels of cooperation between all project team members.

The meeting covered all sections of the project, from the initial concept through to ongoing maintenance

requirements and end-user impacts. Of particular focus was the operation of what appears to be a complex heating and hot water system. It was concluded that whilst the design of the system has been intricate, the operation now it has been installed should be robust and simple. Richard Hiblen described the overall system as being a standard cylinder, just with more inputs.

The overall consensus was that the major benefits to the tenant had been achieved through the significant improvements to the building envelope and that in order to benefit from the additional technologies installed, good provision of information to the tenant is crucial.

Solar thermal and Dehumidification - January

By the beginning of January both the Solar UK solar thermal system and the SolarVenti dehumidification systems had been installed.

Solar Thermal - This system was chosen due to its high performance and robust build. The traditional problems of tube failure due to the metal-glass seals have been designed out using 100% glass tubes. The system has been connected to the bottom of the DPS heat tank in order to prioritise hot water collection within the dwelling.

Modelled performance indicates that the 2.8m2 collector area will produce approximately 60% of the domestic hot water demand within the dwelling, but heat meters have been installed to measure the in use performance.

Dehumidification - A SolarVenti system has been installed on the dwelling in order to improve humidity levels within the dwelling and provide a degree of free heat through warm air vents. The principles of the system (pictured at the bottom of the roof) are described by SolarVenti below:

'SolarVenti dehumidifiers are designed to make use of the significant relative humidity differences that occur during non summer months. On a cold clear winter morning, most of the water vapour in the air has dropped out as dew or frost, so the relative humidity is low. As soon as the sun hits the SolarVenti panel, it will start to suck in cool air, warm it and push it into your property. Because warmer air has a greater propensity for carrying moisture, this picks up the dampness in your property and it is actively dispersed through any ventilation gaps in your house (air bricks, poorly fitted windows, under doors etc.) leaving your property nicely dry and ventilated with fresh, slightly warmed air.'

Mechanical Ventilation Decisions

The mechanical ventilation system is now up and running in the house. A Passivent iHybrid system was chosen in the end after much consultation between the design team members, manufacturers and the resident.

The key concern was to avoid overheating. Although energy modelling demonstrated a low risk of overheating on a theoretical level, it was still a concern due to the pipe runs and heat sources within such a well insulated dwelling. For that reason, questions were raised about systems which had no summer bypass for the heat recovery system

and the iHybrid system seemed an excellent solution.

Dennis Bates of Passivent said of the system:

A ventilation system only performs as it should provided that it is installed correctly. Air tightness within the system and unobstructed clear air routes are key to ensuring that moist, stale air is removed from the property, and fresh clean air is fed in, so not causing any potential excess moisture, leading to damp and mould growth.

Noting that installation is a key factor, Passivent have a team of approved Mastercare installers, whom are trained by the manufacturer to ensure that every project not only has the right system installed, but it installed to the highest quality, providing the promised levels of ventilation. The unique iHybrid system which was used on the project combines Heat Recovery with natural Passive Stack Ventilation, providing energy savings and i

ncreased longevity over standard heat recovery systems, was installed by one such Mastercare Installer, Brooklyn PSV. The quality and professionalism of the approved installer network means that the system was commissioned and will continue to operate as designed throughout it's life, providing occupants with fresh clean air.'

The ventilation fans will now be monitored for 2 years to ascertain the reduction in electricity consumption due to the passive stack principle being adopted during summer months.

December Update - External wall insulation

Work has been progressing rapidly on site and is close to completion both internally and externally. Brick slips were chosen to closely match the existing bricks in order to maintain the character of the property, with render being applied to the rear of the property. These were applied to the prepared mesh on the phenolic insulation, spaced and then pointed as outlined in the photos. This resulted in a very realistic finish similar to the original appearance of the property.

Importantly, this was also the time that excavation for the perimeter wall insulation could be carried out, to be filled with EPS later, dramatically reducing perimeter losses through the ground floor.